NEBRASKA CITY - FORT KEARNY CUT-OFF

Massive freighting of supplies by ox and mule trains was a
direct result of the establishment of Fort Kearny and other western
military posts. The Mormon War and the discovery of gold in the
territories of Colorado and Montana increased this trade, and
Nebraska City became a major freighting center between 1858 and
1865. Early freighters used the Ox-Bow Trail which looped northward
to the Platte Valley and west to Fort Kearny. The competition
with other Missouri River Towns forced the freighters to seek
a shorter, quicker route. The new route, the Nebraska City-Fort
Kearny Cut-off, passed near this point. It was originally marked
by a plowed furrow of over 180 miles. In 1862 Joseph Brown brought
to Nebraska his famed steam wagon, an invention that would hopefully
revolutionize plains freighting. Bridges were constructed and
other improvements were made to facilitate this machine. The experiment
was a failure and the wagon never got beyond the outskirts of
Nebraska City; even so, the cut-off is also known as the "Steam
Wagon Road."

Overland freighting reached its peak in 1865 when over 44 million
pounds of supplies were shipped from Nebraska City. The construction
of the Union Pacific Railroad across Nebraska, however, signaled
the end of major freighting on this trail.

York County Historical Society
Department of Roads
Nebraska State Historical Society
York I-80 E Rest Area
York County
Marker 173